Load tracking computing platform and user interface

ABSTRACT

The systems and methods described herein relate to managing transportation of loads of items within a retail supply chain. A unified load tracking system aggregates information from multiple supply chain computing systems for presentation on a user interface accessible by multiple users. One user interface provide access to a multitude of information that is interconnected by a common, unique identifier for each movement of a load between an origin and destination. A load board is also provided which automates the spot market auction process and load tender process between carriers and a retail enterprise transportation management system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is directed to methods and systems for trackingloads of items within a supply chain. More particularly, the presentdisclosure describes a load tracking computing platform for trackingfreight shipments within a supply chain and aggregating information frommultiple supply chain management systems using one user interface.

BACKGROUND

Managing movement of items within a supply chain for a large enterpriserequires the use of multiple software tools. Different computing systemshandle operations for transportation, inventory, and warehousemanagement. Each system requires a different login and utilizes adifferent user interface to access information. Additionally, eachsystem uses different identifiers to track items, trailers, and loads.In order to accurately determine the status of various shipments ofitems, multiple applications are often required to be accessed and/orcarriers are required to be contacted manually.

Still further, although enterprises often have contracts with carrierson particular shipping lanes, those carriers may not have capacity totake on a given load, or may be unwilling to take on a given load basedon then-current prices for the load. In such circumstances, somesoftware applications exist that allow organizations to present a loadboard at which carriers may bid on loads. Such bids on loads may resultin higher or lower prices for a given load than is agreed to with adesignated, or pre-contracted carrier. This introduces additionalburdens for enterprises that manage item transportation within theirrespective supply chains, because it may be difficult to arrange foralternate carriers, and may be difficult to predict the price that maybe required to be paid to such an alternative carrier.

Additionally, in this context, for primary and alternative contractedcarriers, as well as auction-winning carriers, it can be difficult todetermine the status of loads, and more specifically goods within agiven load, within an organization's supply chain. This is exacerbatedby the fact that carriers may have electronic or paper records, and mayor may not be well-integrated and utilize EDI transaction flows. Stillfurther, in some instances a record associated with a warehouse mayremain static, but the associated record identifying a transportationload may change, for example due to logistical changes or changes incarrier. It can be difficult, therefore, to maintain complete records ofthe location of an item throughout an enterprise supply chain thatutilizes such a wide variety of carriers and software systems for recordmanagement in different contexts.

It is against this background that the present disclosure is made.Techniques and improvements are provided herein.

SUMMARY

In general terms, the present disclosure relates to methods and systemsfor tracking loads of items within a supply chain. In particular, aunique identifier is used to aggregate information about load movementsfrom multiple different supply chain management systems to present aunified view of load tracking information on a user interface.Additionally, a load board provides access to secondary markets forcarriers to ship loads for a retailer.

According to at least one aspect of the present disclosure, a computingsystem for tracking freight movements within a retail supply chaincomprises: an edge layer application programming interface (API)configured to aggregate and correlate load tracking data from aplurality of supply chain management computing systems; a user interfaceconfigured to communicate visual representations of the load trackingdata to a plurality of computing devices for display; a load board toolconfigured to: automatically identify eligible loads for spot marketauction; send information about the eligible loads to a virtual boardaccessible by carrier computing devices; receive one or more bids fromone or more of the carrier computing devices for the spot marketauction; automatically determine winning bids for the spot marketauction; and automatically create and send load tenders for the winningbids and the eligible loads; and a load tracking tool configured to:generate visualizations of planned virtual movements and executedphysical movements within the retail supply chain based on theaggregated and correlated load tracking data; and automatically generatealerts and status events.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of tracking movementsof loads of items within a retail supply chain comprises: aggregatingand correlating load tracking data received from a plurality ofdifferent supply chain management computing systems through an edgelayer; generating visual representations of virtual movements andphysical movements, load statuses, and locations of loads in nearreal-time, based on the aggregated and correlated load tracking data;generating status updates and alerts based on the aggregated andcorrelated load tracking data; and communicating the visualrepresentations, status updates, and alerts to a plurality of computingdevices through a single graphical user interface (GUI) accessiblethrough an application programming interface (API).

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of managing a loadboard comprises: identifying, with a transportation management system,one or more loads of items eligible for spot market auction; postinginformation about the one or more loads on the load board, the loadboard accessible by a plurality of carrier computing devices through anapplication programming interface (API); receiving one or more bids fromone or more of the carrier computing devices in the spot market auction;automatically determining winning bids for each of the loads; andautomatically creating and sending, with the transportation managementsystem, load tenders for the winning bids and corresponding loads to thecarrier computing devices associated with the winning bids.

In yet another aspect, a computer-implemented method of trackingmovement of loads of items within a retail supply chain comprises:scheduling a delivery of a load of one or more items from an origin to adestination within the retail supply chain, the delivery having aschedule ID; creating a movement identifier (ID) comprising analphanumeric having at least 4 characters; linking the movement ID withthe schedule ID of the delivery in a record; assigning the load to atrailer; linking a trailer ID for the trailer with the movement ID inthe record; before a trailer close event occurs associated with thetrailer, assigning a manifest ID to the movement ID based on thescheduled delivery of the load; and publishing the movement ID andlinked schedule ID, trailer ID, and manifest ID to a messaging system,the messaging system being accessible by a plurality of computingsystems through an application programming interface (API).

In another aspect, a supply chain management computing system comprises:a processor; and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, thememory storing instructions which when executed by the processor, causesthe computing system to: schedule a delivery of a load of one or moreitems from an origin to a destination within the retail supply chain,the delivery having a schedule ID provided by a node transportationapplication (NTA); create a movement identifier (ID) comprising analphanumeric having at least 4 characters; link, using a movement IDservice, the movement ID with the schedule ID in a table in a datastore; assign, using a transportation management (TM) system, the loadto a trailer; linking a trailer ID for the trailer with the movement IDin the table; before a trailer close event associated with the traileroccurs at the origin, assign a manifest ID generated by a warehousemanagement system (WMS) to the movement ID based on the scheduleddelivery; link the manifest ID to the movement ID in the table; publishthe movement ID and linked schedule ID, trailer ID, and manifest ID to amessaging system; and generate a graphical user interface (GUI)displaying information from the manifest alongside information linked tothe trailer ID to show a near-current location of specific items shippedfrom a warehouse location during shipment by a third-party carrier.

In yet another aspect, a method of linking data from different retailsupply chain management systems comprises: receiving, at a computingdevice, a schedule ID generated by a node transportation application(NTA) to represent a scheduled delivery of a load of items from anorigin to a destination on a delivery date; generating a movement ID tobe associated with the schedule ID; storing the movement ID and scheduleID together in a table; receiving, at the computing device from atransportation management system, a load ID, carrier name, and standardcarrier alpha code (SCAC) for a planned trailer movement between theorigin and the destination; storing the load ID, carrier name, and SCACwith the movement ID and schedule ID in the table; prior to trailerclose at the origin, receiving at the computing device a request from awarehouse management system (WMS) for a movement ID, the requestincluding an origin identifier, a destination identifier, a manifest ID,and a trailer number; storing the origin identifier, destinationidentifier, manifest ID, and trailer number with the movement ID,schedule ID, load ID, carrier name, and SCAC in the table; sending themovement ID to the WMS; and publishing the movement ID and associatedschedule ID, load ID, carrier name, SCAC, origin identifier, destinationidentifier, manifest ID, and trailer number to a messaging system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a supply chain managementsystem.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a load tracking system usablewithin the supply chain management system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example supply chain for aretail enterprise.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a computing deviceuseable to implement aspects of the supply chain management system ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method of managing loadswithin a supply chain.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method of managing aload board.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method of tracking loadswithin a retail supply chain.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method of tracking loadmovements within a retail supply chain.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a load tracking view of a graphicaluser interface.

FIG. 10 illustrates examples of movement ID tables.

FIG. 11 illustrates examples of movement ID tables.

FIG. 12 illustrates examples of movement ID tables.

FIG. 13A illustrates examples of movement ID tables.

FIG. 13B illustrates examples of movement ID tables.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts andassemblies through the several views. Reference to various embodimentsdoes not limit the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally,any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to belimiting and merely set forth the many possible embodiments for theappended claims.

Whenever appropriate, terms used in the singular also will include theplural and vice versa. The use of “a” herein means “one or more” unlessstated otherwise or where the use of “one or more” is clearlyinappropriate. The use of “or” means “and/or” unless stated otherwise.The use of “comprise,” “comprises,” “comprising,” “include,” “includes,”and “including” are interchangeable and not intended to be limiting. Theterm “such as” also is not intended to be limiting. For example, theterm “including” shall mean “including, but not limited to.”

The systems and methods described herein relate to managingtransportation of loads of items within a retail supply chain. A unifiedload tracking system aggregates information from multiple supply chaincomputing systems to present that information on a user interfaceaccessible by multiple users. One user interface provides access to amultitude of information that is interconnected by a common, uniqueidentifier for each movement. A load board also provides carriers witheasy access to information about available loads and provides retailerswith easy access to bids from carriers for their loads. The load boardmanages automated auctions and automated load tendering. The load boardinformation can also be accessed with the single user interface.

An edge layer connects all of the supply chain management systems for aretail enterprise. Data is aggregated from the supply chain managementsystems and is presented at a single user interface. This simplifies theprocess of determining the status of shipments by eliminating the needto contact carriers or access various computing systems via separateuser interfaces.

A great deal of manual interactions with supply chain managementcomputing systems were required previously. In one particular example,to change a load from a regional distribution center to a store which ispaired to a backhaul, a user would have to access 9 separateapplications and services, such as a transportation logistics managementapplication, an electronic data interchange (EDI) message managementapplication, a warehouse management system, a load tracking application,a store inventory application, and a global inventory application. Evenwhen using those applications, it may be difficult, if not impossible,to determine the exact location of a particular item, given that thewarehouse management system (which may track by carton of items) maytrack items differently than the to load tracking application (which maytrack by load), which may in turn track items differently from a storeinventory application (which may track items on a per-item basis). Thiswould take about 14 minutes to execute. In another example, to determinewhether or not a load was correctly tendered to a carrier, a user wouldhave had to access four separate applications. With the load trackingsystem described herein, a user can view, execute, and configure variousoperations with a single user interface.

The system described herein allows internal and external users toconduct a variety of operations within one solution which orchestrates auser's experience and data aggregation across multiple platforms. Onesynergistic experience allows a user to access a single platform,replacing the multiple interactions within multiple interfaces requiredpreviously. This solution also enables a framework to allow for futurescalability for domestic operations and an opportunity to createsystemic interactions between domestic transportation operations, atransportation command center and carriers in one seamless experience.Additional advantages are achieved, as further explained below.

Load Board

As mentioned above, in some aspects of the present disclosure, anintegrated load board is provided that presents carriers various loadsfor bidding to secondary carriers. Historical data regarding loadpricing may be analyzed to determine an optimal carrier strategy whenselecting between a contracted carrier and submission of a load to theload board for auction. Carrier near-real-time pricing analytics areused to compare market rates with contracted rates for carriers. Datacan be analyzed at a granular level to determine an optimum sourcingstrategy. A common load board has the ability to automate auctioneligible loads. Loads that are eligible for auction are identified.Information regarding the load is sent and received through the API. Theload tender process is also automated for the carrier through an API.

The load board system includes both traditional load board capability aswell as enabling an automated dynamic rating capability. The automatedcapability reduces the manual workload required to obtain supplementalcapacity within a constrained capacity landscape. Near real-time pricinganalytics are employed to obtain market rates vs. contracted rates at amore granular level to influence sourcing strategies for the retailer.Still further, the load board may include one or more automated rulesthat can be implemented to ensure that carriers having contracted ratesfor a given shipping route are unable to decline a pre-contracted rateand instead bid on the same load (in cases where the bid amount would beless than the contracted rate).

Load Tracking

In addition, in example embodiments, a data structure is provided thatallows for linking of load and warehouse data across various softwaresystems. Accordingly, data from multiple sources is correlated andaggregated automatically. All carrier status events are aggregated atthe load tracking system. Updates can be viewed using a graphical userinterface (GUI) to provide real-time visibility of events occurringthrough the supply chain. Alerts are automated for particular events andexceptions. The GUI allows for visualization of both virtual plannedmovements and actual physical movements of items and trailers.

Using the GUI, loads can be filtered in various user-definedconfigurations to access particular load information. Through the use ofa unique movement ID, available metadata such as Node TransportationApplication (NTA) schedule ID, Vendor Ready to Ship (VRS) shipment ID,Transportation Manager (TM) load ID, TM trip ID, associated shipmentwindows, associated computed departure and arrival windows, EDI 204tender timing, EDI 990 status, EDI 214 segment statuses, DCI or OSN(manifest ID), trailer number, Bill of Lading (BOL) and yard time stampscan be correlated. Accordingly, in accordance with the presentdisclosure, the unique movement ID acts as a link across heterogeneoustransportation management and tracking systems for accurate joinder ofshipment status information, while providing a common identifier acrossfirst, middle, and last mile freight movements for visualization andreporting.

In addition to receiving shipment updates and tracking, the loadtracking system can manage information relating to carrier reason codesfor late or missed pickups. The load tracking system can also handleroot cause delineation information received from free form text fields.

Through use of the data structure, an identifier for a particular loadat a warehouse may be linked to another identifier for the sameparticular load as managed by a carrier, despite the fact that therelationship between the warehouse identifier and carrier identifier maychange, e.g., due to changed transportation conditions. Additionally,use of such an identifier avoids having to modify each databaseassociated with each application that is otherwise used within a supplychain, and provides a single point from which a load of data may then beaccessed by utilizing the related identifiers managed within that datastructure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example supply chain management system 100. Thesupply chain management system 100 operates within a retail enterprise,and can be implemented across a variety of heterogeneouscomputer-implemented systems that are each usable to manage and operatevarious functions within a retail supply chain. The supply chainmanagement system 100 includes a load tracking system 102, a load boardsystem 104, and a movement ID service 128. The supply chain managementsystem 100 also includes a warehouse management system 106, atransportation management system 108, and an inventory management system110. The supply chain management system 100 communicates with one ormore computing devices 116 via a network 114.

The load tracking system 102 operates to gather information about loadmovements within the supply chain and present that information on aunified user interface accessible by multiple types of users. Theloading tracking system 102 includes a data aggregator 124 and agraphical user interface (GUI) 126. The data aggregator 124 operates toaggregate and correlate information from various supply chain managementcomputing systems such as the warehouse management system 106,transportation management system 108, NTA 138, and VRS 140. In someembodiments, the load tracking system 102 aggregates informationreceived from electronic data interchange (EDI) messages sent frommultiple different computing systems. Different computing systems refersto independent computing systems that utilize different data formats orhandle separate functions and are not designed to integrate with oneanother. The EDI messages could include EDI 204 (Motor Carrier LoadTender), EDI 213 (Motor Carrier Shipment Status Inquiry), EDI 216 (MotorCarrier Shipment Pick-up Notification), and EDI 990 (Accept or Declinethe 204 Shipment), just to name a few. In some embodiments, the EDImessages include EDI 204 (tender timing), EDI 990 (status), and EDI 214(segment statuses). In the example of FIG. 1, the warehouse managementsystem 106 and transportation management system 108 could be completelyindependent systems that operate using different data formats thatcannot communicate with each other directly.

The GUI 126 generates visualizations of the information aggregated bythe data aggregator 124. The visualizations represent current locationsof loads, planned movements, position of loads on trailers, and statusof loads. In some embodiments, the visualizations present the loadinformation in a table format, as illustrated in the example GUI of FIG.9, described below. In response to queries, the GUI 126 can presentinformation about particular trailers or loads. In some embodiments, theGUI 126 is accessible by a plurality of other computing devices throughan API.

The movement ID service 128 operates to provide a unified identifierthat links warehouse management system 106 information to transportationmanagement system 108 information. In some embodiments, information fromthe NTA 138 and VRS 140 can be linked to a movement identifier (ID) bythe movement ID service as well. In example embodiments, the movement IDservice 128 generates a unique identifier as part of a data structurethat also stores information identifying a load in other systems such asthe NTA 138 and VRS 140. Through use of such a data structure, anenterprise user may more readily be able to view movement of a load fromend to end within a supply chain. In some embodiments, the datastructure is a record. In some embodiments, the data structure is atable. In some embodiments, the data structure is stored in a data store142 in communication with the movement ID service 12. In someembodiments, the movement ID service 128 further operates to linkadditional IDs with the movement ID in the data structure as they becomeavailable from other systems.

The load board system 104 operates to generate and maintain a load boardaccessible by carriers and the retail enterprise. The load board system104 includes an application programming interface (API) 130, a graphicaluser interface (GUI) 132, and an automated auction manager 134.Information about loads eligible for spot market auction can be uploadedto the load board system 104 by the transportation management system108. Carriers 118 can access the load board through the API 130 and viewavailable loads using the GUI 132.

The automated auction manager 134 determines winning bids for loadsposted to the load board. In some embodiments, the automated auctionmanager 134 will initiate the load tender process by communicating withthe transportation management system 108. In some embodiments, thiscould be accomplished by sending an EDI 204 to the winning carrier'scomputing system. The automated auction manager 134 will apply one ormore rules to control the carriers who may bid for a given load postedto the load board. Details regarding the load board, and rules, areprovided below in conjunction with FIG. 6.

The warehouse management system 106 manages all events that occur atnodes (warehouse, distribution center, or storage at retail store) inthe process of moving inventory through the supply chain. Warehouseoperations differ between receive centers, distribution centers, andstorage in retail stores. Inbound processing typically occurs at receivecenters and distribution centers as items are shipped in from vendors orare transferred in from other nodes within the supply chain. Theincoming items are put into storage at the node or are prepared forfurther shipment within the supply chain. The warehouse managementsystem 106 functions to confirm various events as items are moved fromnode to node, such as trailer close or receipt of items at a node. Thewarehouse management system 106 tracks the physical movements of itemswithin the warehouse environment, e.g., from the point of receiptthrough the trailer's release from the warehouse node. For example, thewarehouse management system 106 may track items based on a predeterminedunit volume, and will monitor which items are to be received, routed,and repacked for transport from the warehouse to one or more retaillocations.

The transportation management system 108 receives instructions from theinventory management system 110 to transport items between nodes of thesupply chain. This generally involves communicating with carriers 118 toship loads on trailers from node to node. Typically, the transportationmanagement system 108 operates separately from the warehouse managementsystem 106 and utilizes different computing systems to implement itsfunctions. The transportation management system 108 functions to planfuture movements of items within the supply chain.

The inventory management system 110 operates to oversee the amount andlocation of every item in stock at different nodes within a supplychain. The inventory management system 110 determines whether additionalinventory is needed within the supply chain and issues purchase ordersto vendors 120. The inventory management 110 system can also determinewhen items need to be redistributed within the supply chain. If morestock of a particular item is needed at a different node, the inventorymanagement system 110 issues a transfer order to the transportationmanagement system 108.

The node transportation application (NTA) 138 operates to generatedelivery schedules. NTA 138 handles virtual planning of movements ofloads of items. NTA 138 generates schedule IDs for each delivery.

The Vendor Ready to Ship (VRS) application 140 integrates notificationsfrom a vendor indicating that the vendor is prepared to ship requesteditems. The VRS 140 may, for example, receive notifications from vendors,and based on invoice information, initiate logistics fora load via theNTA 138.

As described herein, the various applications and inventories managementsystems present throughout the supply chain 100 represent differentapplications that store heterogeneous data, for example tracking itemsat different volumes, or in different combinations, tracking loads indifferent ways or at different points in time, and otherwise beinguncoordinated other than through EDI transactions which occur attransition points in a supply chain (e.g., from warehouse to trailer, ortrailer to retail location). Through use of a data structure including amovement ID, data may be associated with the movement ID as it becomesavailable from the various applications, thereby building a largerpicture of movement of the item throughout the supply chain.

FIG. 2 illustrates a more detailed schematic diagram 200 of selectedcomponents of the supply chain management system 100, showingintegration of the load tracking system and load board system withvarious other applications in an enterprise supply chain environment ina way that allows visibility to item movements and positioningthroughout the supply chain. The diagram 200 illustrates an event basedreal time supply chain management infrastructure that providesvisibility across the various warehouse, load/carrier, and enterpriseinventory tracking systems despite possible changes to relationshipsbetween loads and warehouse inventories (e.g., due to changes inload/carrier schedules, carriers, changes in quantity or collections ofitems tracked, etc.).

The scheduler 202 operates to match loads of items with trailers totransport those items from an origin to a destination within the supplychain. The scheduler 202 communicates information for loads that need tobe transported to the core API 204. The core API 204 manages persisteddata and decides auction winners. When a load is put on a spot marketauction, carriers can bid on the available loads using the load board.Information from the core API 204 is communicated through an edge API206 to an application user interface (UI) 208. Computing devices canaccess the application UI 208 to access information fetched through theedge API 206.

The transportation manager (TM) API 214 makes information from the coreAPI 204 available to the load balancer 216. The load balancer 216manages the execution of load tender events in accordance with theresults of the spot market auctions. Instructions are communicated tothe transportation manager (TM) 218 to execute tender events. The TMevent publisher 222 receives updates about item movement events that areoccurring to transport loads and communicates tender events to a Kafkatopic 224. In some embodiments, the item movement events arecommunicated from the transportation manager 218 to the TM eventpublisher 222 via extensible markup language (XML) network attachedstorage (NAS) 220. The tender consumer 226 accesses the Kafka topic 224to process messages about tender events and communicate information fromthe messages to the core API 204. Information from the core API 204 canbe stored in and retrieved from a data store 230.

The dynamic rating API 232 receives requests for quotes or bids from thecore API 204. The requests are communicated to carriers 118 a, 118 b,118 c. The carriers 118 receive information about the available loadsand can access that information through a load board. Bids or quotesfrom the carriers 118 are communicated through the dynamic rating API232 to the core API 204, where the winning bid is determined for eachload.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram 300 of an example supply chainfor a retail enterprise. This is just one simplified example of a supplychain in which the present systems and methods can operate. The diagram300 illustrates the flow of inventory from vendor 302 to store 308. Theinventory moves through various nodes to arrive at the stores 308. Inthis example, the nodes include a receive center 304, two distributioncenters 306 a, 306 b, and four retail stores 308 a, 308 b, 308 c, 308 d.In practice, the supply chain could include many more nodes in differentproportions. In some embodiments, there are not separate receive centersand distribution centers. Instead, there may be one type of warehousefor holding inventory before distributing to stores. Arrows in thediagram indicate movement of inventory. Inventory will typically flowdownward through the supply chain, but in some instances inventory maymove between distribution centers 306 or between retail stores 308. Insome embodiments, inventory may even move from a distribution center 306to a receive center 304 or from a retail store 308 to a distributioncenter 306.

Vendors 302 produce/provide the items or products that will be sold bythe retail enterprise. A purchase order is typically placed to requestproducts from a vendor. In some instances, the vendor 302 will transportthe ordered products to a receive center 304. In other instances, theretail entity arranges for the products to be picked up from the vendor302 and transported to the receive center 304. Once at the receivecenter 304, the products are prepared for transportation to one or moredistribution centers 306. The products may arrive from the vendors inlarge groupings that need to be broken down into individual units fordistribution to distribution centers 306 and/or stores 308. Accordingly,once received into the supply chain of the enterprise, each individualunit can be tracked and shipped among the various nodes of the supplychain.

A variety of products are prepared for shipment to one or moredistribution centers 306. The distribution centers 306 are typicallypositioned to enable quick shipment to one or more retail stores 308.Each distribution center 306 may supply inventory to multiple retailstores 308. In some instances, more than one distribution center 306will send inventory to a retail store 308. For example, in FIG. 3,distribution center 306 a distributes inventory to stores 308 a, 308 b,and 308 c. Distribution center 306 b distributes to stores 308 b, 308 c,and 308 d. In some instances, to the extent products received at adistribution center 306 are not already broken down into individualunits, the products may be broken down into individual units in order todistribute individual items to stores 308, or optionally to fill onlineorders that will be delivered directly to customers from thedistribution center 306 or store 308.

Once products arrive at the retail stores 308, they are either stored ina back room or displayed on shelves. This inventory is available forin-store purchases, pick-up orders, or local delivery. Depending on thelocation of a customer ordering products online, the shipments ofproducts could come from one or more retail stores 308, or distributioncenters 306. For instance, a customer could receive shipments ofproducts from either store 308 b or store 308 c, or both (in theinstance of a multi-item purchase).

It is noted that, between receive centers 304, distribution centers 306,and stores 308, there may be preexisting, predetermined delivery routesestablished. For example, there may be daily or weekly transit routesbetween a receive center and one or more distribution centers. Thereceive center 308 can provide to the distribution centers 306 theselection of individual items that are needed by stores 308 serviced bythe one or more distribution centers 306 proximate to and/or servicingthose stores 308. The distribution centers 306 can also have daily orother periodic transportation routes established to stores 308 that areserviced, thereby ensuring prompt replenishment of items at stores inresponse to item sales.

It is in this general supply chain retail environment that the followingsystems and methods operate. While the methods and systems are describedin a retail environment having brick-and-mortar stores as well as onlinesales, additional applications are possible. For example, the systemsand methods could operate in a supply chain of warehouses that onlydistribute products to customers in fulfillment of online orders. Inother embodiments, the systems and methods could operate fordistribution channels that distribute supplies to multiple locationswithin a business rather than selling to individual customers.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an example block diagram of a computing device400 is shown that is useable to implement aspects of the supply chainmanagement system 100 of FIG. 1. For example, the computing device 400can be used to access the supply chain management system 100 through thenetwork 114 as computing device 116.

In the embodiment shown, the computing device 400 includes at least onecentral processing unit (“CPU”) 402, a system memory 408, and a systembus 422 that couples the system memory 408 to the CPU 402. The systemmemory 408 includes a random access memory (“RAM”) 410 and a read-onlymemory (“ROM”) 412. A basic input/output system that contains the basicroutines that help to transfer information between elements within thecomputing device 400, such as during startup, is stored in the ROM 412.The computing system 400 further includes a mass storage device 414. Themass storage device 414 operates to store software instructions anddata.

The mass storage device 414 is connected to the CPU 402 through a massstorage controller (not shown) connected to the system bus 422. The massstorage device 414 and its associated computer-readable storage mediaprovide non-volatile, non-transitory data storage for the computingdevice 400. Although the description of computer-readable storage mediacontained herein refers to a mass storage device, such as a hard disk orsolid state disk, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat computer-readable data storage media can include any availabletangible, physical device or article of manufacture from which the CPU402 can read data and/or instructions. In certain embodiments, thecomputer-readable storage media comprises entirely non-transitory media.

Computer-readable storage media include volatile and non-volatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information such as computer-readable softwareinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Exampletypes of computer-readable data storage media include, but are notlimited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid statememory technology, CD-ROMs, digital versatile discs (“DVDs”), otheroptical storage media, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed bythe computing device 400.

According to various embodiments, the computing device 400 can operatein a networked environment using logical connections to remote networkdevices through a network 421, such as a wireless network, the Internet,or another type of network. The computing device 400 may connect to thenetwork 421 through a network interface unit 404 connected to the systembus 422. It should be appreciated that the network interface unit 404may also be utilized to connect to other types of networks and remotecomputing systems. The computing device 400 also includes aninput/output controller 406 for receiving and processing input from anumber of other devices, including a touch user interface displayscreen, or another type of input device. Similarly, the input/outputcontroller 406 may provide output to a touch user interface displayscreen or other type of output device.

As mentioned briefly above, the mass storage device 414 and the RAM 410of the computing device 400 can store software instructions and data.The software instructions include an operating system 418 suitable forcontrolling the operation of the computing device 400. The mass storagedevice 414 and/or the RAM 410 also store software instructions, thatwhen executed by the CPU 402, cause the computing device 400 to providethe functionality discussed in this document. For example, the massstorage device 414 and/or the RAM 410 can store software instructionsthat, when executed by the CPU 402, cause the computing system 400 tooperate a load board.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a flow chart depicting an example method 500 ofmanaging loads within a supply chain is described. The method 500 can beperformed by the systems described in FIGS. 1 and 2.

At operation 502, load tracking information is aggregated from multipledifferent computing systems in the supply chain. A movement ID can beutilized to link different identifiers used by warehouse managementsystems, transportation management systems, and other systems. Themovement ID ties together information about virtual planned movements ofitems with actual physical movements of items.

At operation 504, loads eligible for spot market auction are identifiedand posted to a load board. Information about the loads is uploaded tothe load board and can be accessed by multiple carriers. The carrierscan submit bids on the loads to transport them from an origin to adestination.

At operation 506, loads are tendered to the carriers that had thewinning bid on the spot market auction. In some embodiments, theautomated auction manager 134 communicates to the transportationmanagement system 108 of FIG. 1 (or 218 in FIG. 2) instructions toautomatically issue a load tender to the carrier.

At operation 508, information tracking loads within the supply chain isused to generate visualizations. These are prepared to presentinformation about movements of loads including, for example, whichtrailer each load is on, the origin and destination of the load, thecarrier handling the load, and the current status of the load.

At operation 510, the visualizations of load tracking information arepresented on a graphical user interface (GUI) that can be accessed byvarious computing devices through an API. The load tracking informationcan be accessed by both the retail enterprise and the carriers so thatall parties have a unified view of the status of the loads through oneuser interface.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a method 600 of managing a load board isdescribed. In some embodiments, the method 600 can be performed by thesupply chain management system 100 of FIG. 1, and more specifically theload board system 104.

At operation 602, loads eligible for spot market auctions areidentified. In some embodiments, this is performed by a transportationmanagement system such as the transportation management system 108 ofFIG. 1. Loads eligible for spot market auctions may be determined basedon one or more primary or contracted carriers declining to accept agiven load (e.g., due to capacity constraints). This may occurautomatically, for example, based on receipt of an Electronic DataInterchange (EDI) 990 (Response to a Load Tender) message received bythe enterprise that declines the load. Accordingly, such loads may bedesignated as available for bid by non-contracted and contractedcarriers. In some instances, and as made advantageous by the presentdisclosure, loads may be designated for spot market auctions based on abelief by an enterprise that an auction price for a given load may belower than a contracted price, and that contracted load quotas (e.g., apredetermined number of loads agreed to be provided to a given carrierat the contracted rate within a given month/week/year) will otherwise bemet or have been met. In accordance with the present disclosure, byutilizing the load board system described herein, an enterprise may bebetter able to track load prices and predict future load prices that arepaid at auction, so the enterprise may more intelligently select whetherto provide a load to a contracted carrier or to make the load eligiblefor a spot market option.

At operation 604, information about the eligible loads is uploaded to avirtual load board. The load board could be accessible by carriers andretailers through the API 130 and information about available loadscould be viewed using the GUI 132.

At operation 606, bids are received from carriers for the spot marketauctions. Bids can be communicated through the API 130.

At operation 608, the winning bids are automatically determined for eachload. In some embodiments, the automated auction manager 134 of FIG. 1determines the winners. In some embodiments, winning bids are acceptedbased on one or more rules that are predefined by the enterprise. Insome instances, a rule may indicate that a particular carrier isineligible to bid on a load, and so is disqualified from having awinning bid for that load. This may be due to the carrier being acontracted carrier for the given load and the carrier having previouslydeclined to accept the load at the contracted rate. Accordingly, asituation where a carrier can decline a load at a contracted rate toattempt to obtain a higher price for the same load may be avoided.

At operation 610, loads are automatically tendered to the winningbidder. In some embodiments, the automated auction manager 134communicates the winning bid information to the transportationmanagement system 108 to issue the load tender.

In addition to the above, regardless of whether a load is tendered to acontracted carrier or to a carrier holding a winning bid, the price ofthe load, type of agreement (contract or bid), carrier, and load details(time, date, load size, other parameters) are captured to allow theenterprise to perform further analysis and predict future prices forsimilarly-situated loads.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of an example method 700 of trackingloads within a retail supply chain. In some embodiments, the method 700could be implemented by the load tracking system 102 of FIG. 1.

At operation 702, load tracking data is aggregated and correlated frommultiple supply chain management computing systems through an edgelayer. In some embodiments, this operation is performed by the dataaggregator 124 of FIG. 1 which receives information from the warehousemanagement system 106, the transportation management system 108, themovement ID service 128, the NTA 138, and the VRS 140. Such loadtracking data may be received at the various systems due to thosesystems being configured to receive various types of Electronic DataInterchange (EDI) events and/or other status updates. For example, anEDI 204 message (Motor Carrier Load Tender) message may be issued by atransportation management system 108 to a carrier, and the EDI 990message previously described may be returned to that system, eitheraccepting or rejecting the load. The transportation management system108 may then transfer an identifier of that load to the automatedauction manager 134 for auction of the load. An accepted load may resultin communication of an EDI 211 (Bill of Lading) or EDI 212 (TrailerManifest) message.

At operation 704, visual representations are generated of virtualmovements and physical movements of loads within the supply chain. Loadstatuses and locations are also included in the visual representations.In some embodiments, the representations are provided as tables ofinformation that can be queried for particular loads, trailers, orlocations.

At operation 706, carrier status events are received from carriercomputing systems in near real-time. Periodic messages regarding variousstatuses or locations of the load may also be received at the loadtracking system 102 and/or transportation management system 108 from thecarrier via an EDI 214 (Transportation Carrier Shipment Status Message)message. Status events can include loading, trailer close, in transit(with specific location, if available), arrival at destination, andunloaded. Carrier status events can be communicated to the load trackingsystem directly through an API or indirectly through communications withthe transportation management system 108.

At operation 708, status updates and alerts are generated based on theload tracking data and carrier status updates that are received. Alertscan be automatically generated when exceptions occur with shipments.Status updates are generated in response to information updates receivedfrom other supply chain management computing systems indicating a changein location or status of a load.

At operation 710, the visual representations, status updates, and alertsare communicated to computing devices. In some embodiments, the loadtracking system 102 communicates status updates to an API that can beaccessed by other computing systems within the supply chain managementsystem 100 as well as carrier computing systems. The computing systemscan access the visual representations through a graphical user interface(GUI) such as the GUI 126 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a method 800 of tracking movements of loadswithin a supply chain is described. In some embodiments, the movement IDservice 128 performs many of the operations in the method 800.

At operation 802, delivery of a load from an origin to a destination isscheduled. A schedule ID is generated for the delivery.

At operation 804, movement ID is created for the delivery. The movementID is an alphanumeric ID that is unique to each load movement. Themovement ID can be generated at the time movement of a load isscheduled, e.g., at the time the schedule ID is generated, or even priorto generation of the schedule ID. The movement ID is communicated to aKafka topic so it can be accessed by other systems through an API.

At operation 806, the movement ID is linked to the schedule ID. Asystematic data join between the movement ID and schedule ID is createdand saved to a data structure. The linked information can becommunicated to the Kafka topic.

At operation 808, the load manifest is assigned to a trailer fordelivery. The trailer ID is determined as well as a delivery estimate.

At operation 810, the movement ID is linked with the manifest andtrailer ID. In some embodiments, a load ID, carrier name, and standardcarrier alpha code is also linked to the movement ID.

At operation 812, a manifest ID and movement ID are assigned based onthe scheduled delivery. In some embodiments, the manifest ID could be anOLE ship number (OSN) or a distribution center invoice (DCI). Themanifest ID is assigned based on the next available NTA schedule. Themanifest ID identifies a particular load including a collection of itemsthat are to be transported between a distribution center, or warehouse,and another location, such as a retail location.

At operation 814, the movement ID and its linked IDs (schedule ID,trailer ID, manifest ID, etc.) are published to a messaging systemaccessible through an API. In some embodiments, the messaging system isa Kafka topic. The API can be used by carrier, vendor, and retailercomputing devices to access information linked with the movementidentifier.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example view of the GUI 126 for the load trackingsystem 102 of FIG. 1. A header 902 includes options for “Home,” “LoadBoard,” and “Load Tracking.” Selecting the “Load Board” option wouldbring the display to a view of a load board, while the current view isthat of “Load Tracking.” A selection menu 904 provides options to filterthe loads.

A series of entries 906 describing loads are displayed in a table. A boxselector 910 is provided to select one or more of the entries 906. Thetable includes columns to describe “Load ID” 912, “Load Date” 914,“Delivery Date” 916, “Status” 918, “Origin” 920, “Origin Address” 922,“Destination” 924, “Destination Address” 926, and “Weight” 928.

In use, as noted above, the GUI 126 may be presented by the enterpriseas automatically including entries 906 that correspond to loads forwhich bids may be accepted. The entries 906 may be viewable by thirdparty carriers who are granted access to the GUI, e.g., via a set ofcarrier-specific credentials issued by the enterprise. Throughinteraction with the GUI 126, the carriers may be awarded loads based onwinning bids driven by rules governing each auction, as dictated by theload board system 104.

Movement Identifiers

Updates to the movement identifiers (movement IDs) are published toKafka topics as they occur. In some embodiments, there is a landingtable that receives the updates. An API provides access to the updatespublished to the Kafka topics. Pulls to the API can include inputs suchas movement ID, manifest ID (DCI), or other transportation or warehouserelated identifier.

The movement ID makes it so that an overall picture of the location oftrailers and the loads of items within those trailers can be accessedeasily and quickly. Previously, trailer and load information was notlinked and so it could be difficult to ascertain which items were loadedonto which trailers. Often, to check on the status of a load or trailer,calls would have to be made to carriers.

Trailers are scheduled such that the orders contained within areexpected to be unloaded in the order that they arrive at a destination.In other words, the so-called “oldest” trailers should be unloaded firstso that the items within arrive when expected. However, existing systemsdid not have a good way to tie the trailer identity to the identity ofthe orders contained within. Thus, multiple trailers could be sitting ina yard waiting to be unloaded and employees at a node would not knowwhich trailers to prioritize for unloading. This resulted inorders/items being unloaded out of sequence and items won't get to wherethey need to be when they need to be there. There was a need for virtualand physical movements of containers to be associated with a persistedunique identifier.

This system generates and maintains a container referred to as amovement ID for a movement within a supply chain. The movement IDcaptures a plurality of data fields, populates identifiers into thosedata fields as they become available throughout (or after) a carriermove. The movement ID acts to link physical and virtual systems ofsupply chain management so that middle mile and last mile movements canbe monitored to ensure that items are arriving at their intendeddestinations on time. The movement ID can be utilized in conjunctionwith the load tracking system 102 to access updated and aggregatedinformation about load movements through a supply chain from multipledifferent computing systems. A warehouse management system (WMS) isprovided a unique identifier for each origin/destination pair that ismatched to a trailer and manifest. Information is shared using Kafkatopics and APIs so that it does not need to be replicated and stored indatabases of other systems. This system provides a holistic view of asupply chain network at the granular level for inventory movements.Freight can be tracked so that stores and other nodes know when certainitems will be arriving.

In some embodiments, the movement ID service 128 stores information in adata structure. In some embodiments, the data structure is a singledatabase with two to three tables. These tables list the associationsbetween movement IDs and identifiers used with other supply chainmanagement systems. The primary table includes movement IDs and theirassociated manifest IDs. Associations made between movement IDs andmanifest IDs cannot be changed once established. Another table listsmovement IDs with corresponding NTA and transportation management (TM)information. There is also a table for recording dates and times. Insome embodiments, there is also a separate table for transportationinformation. Transportation information can change so this table remainsseparate from those containing fixed relationships. Other data storagestructures and arrangements could be used to store movement IDs andrelated information. As new or updated information becomes available,the movement ID service 128 stores the information with the pertinentmovement ID in the data structure.

An example of a movement ID table is shown in FIG. 10. The tableincludes a movement ID, manifest ID, schedule ID, load ID, trailernumber, carrier name, standard carrier alpha code (SCAC), originT-number, and destination T-number. Depending on the systems utilized bya retail entity for supply chain management there may be more or lessfields and the combination of tracked fields may differ.

In example embodiments, a new movement ID is created when a scheduleddelivery is created in NTA. The schedule ID is tied to the movement IDin the table. However, the schedule ID could change later. Table B showsthe fields for movement ID filled in with P05G22V and the schedule IDfilled in with 2846 for a new entry.

After the transportation manager has completed optimizing the NTAschedule 2846, the load ID, carrier name, and SCAC are assigned to themovement ID and recorded in the table. In the example table C, the loadID is 16597036, the carrier name is FedEx, and the SCAC is XPOL.

Just before trailer close at a warehouse, the warehouse managementsystem (WMS) 106 requests the movement ID via Kafka by sending a requestmessage including an origin T-number, destination T-number, manifest ID,and trailer number. The movement ID service 128 assigns the manifest IDto the movement ID with the next available NTA schedule based onscheduled delivery date. The movement ID is published via Kafka for theWMS 106 to complete the trailer close process. In table D, the manifestID is shown as 2985, the trailer number is 512, the origin t-number is101, and the destination T-number is 89. The next scheduled delivery iswhichever schedule ID that has not yet been assigned to a manifest ID.The movement ID and manifest ID are now locked and changes cannot bemade. However, other fields may be updated as necessary, as is describedbelow. Completed movement ID details are now published to Kafka and areaccessible by other computing systems via the Kafka topic or API pulls.

Situations can arise where the warehouse requests a movement ID andthere is not already a scheduled delivery between the origin anddestination. FIG. 11 illustrates example movement ID tables showing onesuch situation. The WMS requests the movement ID via Kafka by sending anorigin, destination, manifest ID, and trailer number. These are recordedas shown in table A.

If there are not any available schedules in NTA for theorigin/destination (O/D) pair, a new movement ID will be created, asshown in table B. The movement ID is locked in with the manifest ID, butno NTA or TM data is tied to the movement ID at this point. The movementID details are published via the Kafka topic and are available to bepulled via an API (for example, the Core API 204 of FIG. 2).

Generally, a newly scheduled delivery that is added to NTA 138 willtrigger the creation of a new movement ID and link the new schedule IDwith the movement ID. However, if the delivery schedule date fallsbefore an existing NTA delivery schedule that is already tied to amovement ID and manifest ID, the system will make updates. An example ofthis situation is shown in FIG. 12. Table A shows four movement IDs andthe accompanying details tied to those movement IDs.

The newly added NTA schedule ID will be inserted chronologically andoverwrite the existing NTA schedule ID for that movement ID. In theexample of Table B, schedule ID 2847 is added and overwrite schedule ID2848.

The NTA schedule ID which was previously attached moves to the nextmovement ID with the manifest ID having the next trailer close date.This ensures proper chronology of schedule IDs and trailer closings inWMS without breaking the associations between movement ID and manifestIDs. Schedule ID updates continue to cascade to maintain the chronologyof existing movement ID. In the example of Table C, schedule ID 2848moves down to replace 2848, and 2849 moves down to replace 2851.

Once existing movement IDs are exhausted a new movement ID is createdfor the NTA schedule ID that was previously attached to the last one. Inthe example table D, schedule ID 2851 is matched with the new movementID of P90L31L.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show an example situation of an NTA schedule ID beingcancelled. Cancellation of an NTA schedule results in removing theschedule ID from the movement ID. Table A shows the schedule ID formovement ID G88T42E being removed.

The schedule ID is replaced with the next chronological schedule ID,based on delivery date. The example Table B shows schedule ID moving upto match with movement ID G88T42E, leaving movement ID P90L31L without aschedule ID.

The schedule IDs are moved up chronologically to fill in for movementIDs missing schedule IDs until all of the schedule IDs are updated tothe most recent movement ID. This ensures proper chronology of bothschedule IDs and trailer closings without breaking the associationsbetween movement IDs and manifest IDs. In example Table C of FIG. 13B,the schedule ID 2852 is shown moving up to movement ID P90L31L frommovement ID Y87X89Z.

Leftover movement IDs are deleted. In Table D, the leftover movement IDY87X89Z is deleted.

In this example, all adds and cancels must be captured in NTA 138. Anyadjustment in the physical world (actual trailer movement) that is notcaptured in NTA will cause data to be out of sync for that trailer aswell as all trailers for the same Origin/Destination pair until anadjustment is made. For example, if an additional trailer gets filledand closed without a corresponding schedule being added as an adjustmentin NTA, the manifest ID will simply attach to the next available NTAschedule and all subsequent matching will be off by one. Clearprocedures and process discipline in NTA can help control theseexception scenarios, but if process is not followed, adjustments willneed to be made.

Errors can occur with the movement ID system can occur in variousscenarios. These can include when additional physical trailers are addedwithout adding a corresponding schedule ID in NTA. Skipping a scheduleddelivery without cancelling the corresponding schedule ID in NTA willcause an error. Another situation can occur if the trailer closed anddelivered to store, but the store does not accept the trailer and sendsit back to the distribution center. This will only cause a problem ifthe original NTA schedule ID is not canceled and a new NTA schedule IDis added. If either the original schedule ID gets canceled in NTA, orthe distribution center can deliver to the store without adding a newschedule ID, the net result will keep equal counts of NTA schedules toactual trailers and no further adjustments will be necessary.

The use of an edge layer and single user interface provides manyadvantages over other supply chain management systems. The edge layeraggregates information from multiple different systems that operateindependently from one another with different data formats andidentifiers. This aggregated information is presented with a single userinterface, allowing for a user to access the information from multiplesystems at one point. Thus, a user only needs to log into one system andmake one query to determine the status of a load instead of logging intomultiple systems and making multiple queries to access the sameinformation. This provides efficiency, not just for the user but for themany computing systems associated with the supply chain managementsystem. Fewer computing transactions are required to access the neededinformation.

The load board provides additional advantages in that many of the stepsrequired to post a load to the secondary market are automated. Rules areestablished to automatically determine some loads that will be posted tothe load board for bids. Other additional loads can be posted if it isdetermined that the expected bids are less expensive that contractedcarrier rates. Historical secondary market rates are recorded andaggregated automatically and later accessed to inform this decision.This results in cost savings to a retailer without requiring additionaleffort to obtain the information. The automated load tendering processalso reduces the number of interactions that a retailer has to make withthe load board and with carriers. Further, fewer communications arerequired between the retailer and carrier to carry out the deliveries.

The movement ID acts to link physical and virtual systems of supplychain management so that middle mile and last mile movements can bemonitored to ensure that items are arriving at their intendeddestinations on time. The movement ID can be used in conjunction with aload tracking system to provide a holistic view of a supply chainnetwork at the granular level for inventory movements. The movement IDallows for location of items in transit or in a warehouse withoutimporting all WMS records into a larger transportation managementsystem. This is advantageous because synchronization problems betweenWMS and other transportation management systems can be avoided.

The description and illustration of one or more embodiments provided inthis application are not intended to limit or restrict the scope of theinvention as claimed in any way. The embodiments, examples, and detailsprovided in this application are considered sufficient to conveypossession and enable others to make and use the best mode of claimedinvention. The claimed invention should not be construed as beinglimited to any embodiment, example, or detail provided in thisapplication. Regardless of whether shown and described in combination orseparately, the various features (both structural and methodological)are intended to be selectively included or omitted to produce anembodiment with a particular set of features. Having been provided withthe description and illustration of the present application, one skilledin the art may envision variations, modifications, and alternateembodiments falling within the spirit of the broader aspects of thegeneral inventive concept embodied in this application that do notdepart from the broader scope of the claimed invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computing system for tracking freightmovements within a retail supply chain, the computing system comprising:at least one processor; a memory storing instruction which, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the computing system to:publish an edge layer application programming interface (API) configuredto aggregate and correlate load tracking data from a plurality ofseparate, heterogeneous supply chain management computing systems, theload tracking data comprising data for virtual planned movements ofitems and actual physical movements of items among different locationswithin the retail supply chain; generate a user interface configured tocommunicate visual representations of the load tracking data to aplurality of computing devices for display on a unified user interface,the plurality of computing devices comprising at least a retailercomputing device and a plurality of carrier computing devices; operate aload board tool to: automatically identify eligible loads for spotmarket auction, taking into account agreements between a retailer of theretail supply chain and contracted carriers, wherein at least oneeligible load is automatically identified for the spot market auctionbased on an expected auction price of the at least one eligible loadbeing less than a contracted rate between the retailer and a carriercontracted for the at least one eligible load; send information aboutthe eligible loads to a virtual board accessible by the plurality ofcarrier computing devices; receive one or more bids from one or more ofthe plurality of carrier computing devices for the spot market auction;automatically determine winning bids for the spot market auction basedon predefined rules; and automatically create and send load tenders forthe winning bids and the eligible loads; and operate a load trackingtool to: generate visualizations of planned virtual movements andexecuted physical movements within the retail supply chain based on theaggregated and correlated load tracking data received from the pluralityof separate, heterogeneous supply chain management computing systems;and automatically generate alerts and status events based on updates tothe aggregated and correlated load tracking data.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the load board tool is further configured to access nearreal-time pricing analytics to compare market rates with contractedrates for shipping loads to automatically determine whether to make oneor more loads eligible for the spot market auction.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the load tracking tool is further configured to receivecarrier status events from carrier computing systems in near real-time.4. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface presents auniversal view of all available load tracking information for all users,and the load tracking data is correlated using a unique identifier foreach load movement.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the uniqueidentifier is stored with its linked virtual movement identifiers andphysical movement identifiers in a data structure.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the expected auction price of the load is based on nearreal-time pricing analytics derived from historical load priceinformation.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein text can be entered usinga GUI presented on a carrier computing device to indicate root causeevents for missed or late pickups or late deliveries.
 8. Acomputer-implemented method of tracking movements of loads of itemswithin a retail supply chain, the method being executed by at least oneprocessor and comprising: aggregating and correlating load tracking datareceived from a plurality of separate, heterogeneous supply chainmanagement computing systems through an edge layer, the load trackingdata comprising data for virtual planned movements of items and actualphysical movements of items among different locations within the retailsupply chain; automatically identifying, with a transportationmanagement system, one or more loads of items eligible for spot marketauction, taking into account agreements between a retailer of the retailsupply chain and contracted carriers, wherein at least one eligible loadof the one or more loads is automatically identified for the spot marketauction based on an expected auction price of the at least one eligibleload being less than a contracted rate between the retailer and acarrier contracted for the at least one eligible load; postinginformation about the one or more loads on the load board, the loadboard accessible by a plurality of carrier computing devices through anapplication programming interface (API); receiving one or more bids fromone or more of the plurality of carrier computing devices in the spotmarket auction; automatically determining winning bids for each of theloads based on predefined rules; automatically creating and sending,with the transportation management system, load tenders for the winningbids and corresponding loads to the carrier computing devices associatedwith the winning bids; generating visual representations of virtualmovements and physical movements, load statuses, and locations of loadsin near real-time, based on the aggregated and correlated load trackingdata received from the separate, heterogeneous supply chain managementcomputing systems, the loads including those corresponding to loadtenders for winning bids; generating status updates and alerts based onthe aggregated and correlated load tracking data; and communicating thevisual representations, status updates, and alerts to a plurality ofcomputing devices through a single, unified graphical user interface(GUI) accessible through an application programming interface (API), theplurality of computing devices comprising at least a retailer computingdevice and a plurality of carrier computing devices.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the load tracking datacomprises one or more load statuses selected from the group consistingof: a trailer close message, a load location message, and a trailermanifest.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein thesupply chain management computing systems comprise one or more ofwarehouse management systems, transportation management systems, nodetransportation applications (NTA), and vendor ready to ship (VRS)systems.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein thevirtual movements are generated by a node transportation application(NTA) and are assigned a shipment ID.
 12. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 11, wherein the physical movements are managed by atransportation management system and are assigned trailer IDs.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the virtual movementsand physical movements are coordinated by linking identifiers used byseparate, heterogeneous supply chain management computing systems with aunique, alphanumeric movement identifier.
 14. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 8, further comprising receiving text entry of root causedelineation from carrier computing devices through the GUI.
 15. Acomputer-implemented method of managing a load board, the method beingexecuted by at least one processor and comprising: automaticallyidentifying, with a transportation management system, one or more loadsof items eligible for spot market auction, taking into accountagreements between a retailer of the retail supply chain and contractedcarriers, wherein at least one eligible load of the one or more loads isautomatically identified for the spot market auction based on anexpected auction price of the at least one eligible load being less thana contracted rate between the retailer and a carrier contracted for theat least one eligible load; posting information about the one or moreloads on the load board, the load board accessible by a plurality ofcarrier computing devices through an application programming interface(API); receiving one or more bids from one or more of the carriercomputing devices in the spot market auction; automatically determiningwinning bids for each of the loads based on predefined rules;automatically creating and sending, with the transportation managementsystem, load tenders for the winning bids and corresponding loads to thecarrier computing devices associated with the winning bids; generatingvisual representations of virtual movements and physical movements, loadstatuses, and locations of loads in near real-time, based on aggregatedand correlated load tracking data received from separate, heterogeneoussupply chain management computing systems, the loads including thosecorresponding to the load tenders for winning bids; and communicatingthe visual representations to one or more of a plurality of computingdevices through a single, unified graphical user interface (GUI), theplurality of computing devices comprising at least a retailer computingdevice and the plurality of carrier computing devices.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein at least one other loadof the one or more loads of items eligible for the spot market auctionis identified automatically by detecting that a response denying the oneor more loads was received from a carrier computing device.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein automaticallyidentifying the one or more loads of items eligible for the spot marketauction further comprising comparing the contracted rates between theretailer and a corresponding carrier contracted for each load withhistorical spot market auction rates and determining whether to posteach load to the load board based on a prediction that spot marketauction rates will be lower than the contracted carrier rates.
 18. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the information aboutthe one or more loads comprises one or more of origin, destination,weight, volume, delivery date, and status.
 19. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 15, wherein bids will not be accepted from carriercomputing devices associated with contracted carriers that denied theload.